The game will be set in the A Link to the Past universe but with a new story and new dungeons

At the end of its Nintendo Direct presentation today, in which the company put the spotlight on upcoming 3DS titles, Nintendo finally unveiled what many fans have been clamoring for: a new entry in the Zelda series on the 3D handheld.

The new Zelda game will be set in the world of one of fans' most beloved Zelda games, A Link to the Past, which wowed gamers with its gameplay and overhead world map on the Super NES back in 1992. The new game, slated for this holiday season, will offer up new dungeons and a new story, and it will take advantage of 3DS functionality. One highlighted feature is that Link can shrink down to a paper thin version of himself (a la Paper Mario) and he can then move in between walls in dungeons. 3DS owners can now download a 3D video of the game in the eShop.

The 3DS, unlike the Wii U, has been selling well, and with a new Zelda launching this holiday, the handheld could have a solid Christmas performance even with next-gen consoles hitting the market.

GamesIndustry International spoke to Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aime and we'll be bringing you that story later today.

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"The 3DS, unlike the Wii U, has been selling well, and with a new Zelda launching this holiday, the handheld could have a solid Christmas performance even with next-gen consoles hitting the market."

Pokemon X&Y are confirmed for a global October release. With or without Zelda, the system should have a stunning Christmas sales season globally.

Though this was undoubtedly the highlight of the Direct, there was plenty of great content in there. Localisation for Bravely Default and EarthBound hitting European/North American Virtual Console are two signs that Nintendo are listening to their fans. 3DS has an excellent year of software ahead.

Argh. How about a new Zelda on the Wii U, which would most likely drive sales of that system up a little. That and Earthbound SHOULD get a MUCH better treatment than shoved onto the VC where a good chunk of (well NONE of) Wii U and Wii owners who aren't connected can't get it.

The 3DS continues to look healthy, but somewhere in a press release Nintendo mentioned Pikmin 3 for the Wii U has been pushed to August 4. Given that and the fact there's still no firm launch date for The Wonderful 101 - that other supposed launch window exclusive - the games that are going to make people want Nintendo's home console are coming in dangerously close to the launches of the PlayStation 4 and next Xbox. Nintendo has almost entirely squandered the Wii U's year head start with what seems to be a sequence of false starts.

It might not hurt Nintendo to do some SKU and price adjustments in the stores, perhaps drop production on the deluxe black model Wii U and focus on the basic white one, dropping the price to $250, since they'll seem to be gearing up with games right as Sony and Microsoft are making their pushes.

Hmmm... I see a slight problem here in all the happy-happy going on. MORE retreads don't mean better games. Nintendo is hitting the nostalgia bottle hard, but not in the right ways. Sure, a Link to the Past was a great (and STILL is a great) game, but why not a new game in a new place using those visuals, not what's basically a more expensive and sanctioned in-house fan mod? As for Wind Waker - also an amazing game, but I'd have loved to see a new Zelda using that art style which is still amazing even though some hate it (I'm not one of those people, as my copy of the GC one is the only signed Miyamoto item I have).

That and why in the eight hot hells is Earthbound getting the shaft as a digital-only release? Yeah, yeah, it tanked when it first came out, But given it's been one of the most requested games on any Nintendo system for about a decade or so It SHOULD get more respect as a classy physical release that gets both an HD and regular version, maybe Mother for the GBA emulated and in English and some bonus content. The fans would support THAT in a heartbeat. Hell, a Nintendo Kickstarter would make more money than even the most skepticky skeptic can imagine. Fans should be pleased at the news of Earthbound getting re-released... but not it's just shoved onto the Virtual Console in such a "take it or leave it" manner.

As for a Wii U price drop, it REALLY needs to happen, but I'm gathering that more economical (as in more memory) black model will be one Nintendo tries to push on premium owners.The white model is cool, but people who end up downloading a ton of content will be out of room quickly (as anyone who was suckered into an Xbox 360 Arcade model found out once they got a Live account)...

@Nick, that was a (very) little in-joke. In the past, Nintendo has shot down a bunch of unofficial fan-made "sequels"to LTTP and other Zelda fan game projects, so I was poking fun at them for finally realizing after all this time that they should have done this ages ago.

As for Wind Waker - also an amazing game, but I'd have loved to see a new Zelda using that art style which is still amazing even though some hate it (I'm not one of those people, as my copy of the GC one is the only signed Miyamoto item I have).

Both of the DS games had the same art style as wind waker, if that's what you're looking for